The 5th Hunger Games
by Rosebay
Summary: Set 69 years before Katniss and Peeta were entered into the Hunger Games, Marion Larklow and her brother Torren must learn to survive this cruel game.
1. Chapter 1

Marion brushed her short reddish brown hair and pushed the bangs to the left of her forehead. She stared at the mirror, her body dressed in a white dress. She sighed unhappily and tried to adjust the violet ribbon tied around her waist.

"Why do I have to dress so nicely for the reaping?" she complained to herself. "The Hunger Games are so barbaric." She plucked a loose white string off of her dress. She only had three slips in the raffle amongst thousands of the other teenage girls' slips in District 4. That lowered her chances of getting chosen. She also didn't need to take a tesserae. Her father Flynn Larklow had left her mother, Mayle, when Marion was two weeks old. Her mother had discovered that Flynn was cheating on her and banished Flynn from the household.

"Marion?" a small knock came from her door.

"Come in." Marion replied softly. Her brother's black hair and pale skin peaked in from behind her door.

"Mother's going to throw a fit if you don't hurry." Torren said warningly.

"Alright, alright." Marion said huffily and slipped on the violet shoes. She hurried out the door with Torren and met up with her mother in the courtyard.

"Why do you take so long to dress up?" Mayle grumbled. "I chose the simplest dress for you from my old wardrobe."

"Sorry," Marion groaned. She looked up attentively as a plump lady strolled onto a large platform. Her hair was a brilliant shade of pink and her skin was a faint color of blue.

"Good morning District 4," the District 4 escort, Selia Shelmon, announced. "It is time to choose the tributes for the 5th Hunger Games!" She plunged her fat hand into the girls' box and rustled through the slips of paper. Marion knew she had very slim chances of getting chosen. She only had three slips in there mixed with the slips of others. "And our lucky tribute…" Selia cried.

"I don't think a tribute is considered 'lucky'." Marion whispered to Torren. He chuckled faintly and grew silent as Selia took out one slip.

"Marion Larklow." Marion's heart literally stopped beating. Torren looked at her, his eyes widened in shock. Mayle gasped in horror and dropped her purse. Marion suddenly felt lightheaded and felt as if she were about to puke. She stepped towards the platform, her skinny legs trembling. "Any volunteers?" Selia asked. Marion looked beseechingly to the crowds, hoping that miraculously, a girl would step up and take her place. But no one did.

"And now for our boy tribute!" Selia rummaged through a different box and pulled out another slip. "Zephyr Thorson." Marion felt as if her heart had stopped beating again. Zephyr, a skinny boy with light brown skin and brown hair, made his way through the crowd.

"Not Zephyr…" Marion gasped. Marion had a crush on Zephyr. How could she possibly fight against him in the Hunger Games? She hoped someone would volunteer, anyone.

"Volunteers?" Selia called. The crowd remained silent, until one voice spoke up. Marion looked at who volunteered to save Zephyr's life and nearly fainted when she saw that her own brother was coming towards the platform. Mayle gasped again and started sobbing. Torren walked up to his sister, grasped her hand, and squeezed it lovingly.

"Why?" Marion could barely let the word come out her throat. Before her brother could answer, her knees buckled weakly and she collapsed to the ground unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

Marion glanced at her brother as they rode on a train to the Capitol. She had regained consciousness but was still ill and wouldn't eat or speak. "You should eat your lunch," Torren said, staring at her untouched beef stew. Marion looked away somberly and began to cry.

"Why?" she asked the same question before she had fainted. "Why did you volunteer for Zephyr?"

"To protect you," Torren replied. "And besides, I already figured you had a crush on that guy." Marion blushed but then her face quickly resumed to a cheerless, serious expression.

"But now I have to fight against you. Only one person can win the Hunger Games."

"I will make sure that you will survive," Torren said. "I will protect you against the twenty-two other tributes, especially the Careers."

"But you'll die," Marion said unhappily. She flung herself into Torren's arms. "I don't want you to die. You're my brother." The train stopped and Selia escorted them off the train.

"Welcome to the Capitol!" she hollered loudly. Marion wiped away her tears and sorrowfully followed Torren as Selia led them into a room and introduced them to their mentor, Rainn Riverside. Marion remembered Rainn from the 2nd Hunger Games. Rainn had pushed his opponent, a Career from District 2, off a cliff in the final struggle.

"You two will be training in the Training Center for three days. On the third day, you will perform privately for the Gamemakers, to receive your score." He led Marion and Torren upstairs and showed them their rooms. "Change your clothes and meet me in the Training Room downstairs." Rainn said. She put on a green jacket, a clean white shirt, and a pair of dark blue shorts, and opened her closet to find a pair of brown shoes. She tied them onto her feet and then looked in the mirror. She frowned as she looked at her uncovered hair. She longed for her lucky red bandana, a present from Torren when she was three, during the terrible rebellion against the Capitol, and when District 13 was destroyed. She had worn the same old bandana since that dreadful time for luck.

She groaned when she thought of her mother, telling her not to wear the bandana to the reaping, and now she was here, her fate uncertain. She tried thinking of the past Hunger Games; maybe some of the past strategies may help her survive. She walked out of her room and headed downstairs. "Marion! Wait up!" her brother called. She stopped and waited for her brother to catch up.

"Why didn't I wear my bandana to the reaping?" Marion grumbled. "We could've been safe at home, feeling sorry for the unlucky people."

"Mom must feel really bad right now. She's probably been crying for the past twenty-four hours." Torren replied. He placed his hand on Marion's shoulder. "We'll get through this together."

"I hope so." Marion sighed as they entered the Training Center. Twenty-two other tributes were occupied at different stations. There was knife-throwing, archery, snares and knots, camouflage, and other stations set up to teach survival skills. Marion headed towards the snares and knots station, where a brunette girl with tan skin was making a snare with a younger boy, with the same hair color and skin tone. Marion sat down nervously beside them.

"Good day," the girl said quietly. Marion nodded respectfully and picked up a length of rope. "My name is Poppy Rye," the girl continued. "And this is Husk Dawes. We're from District 11."

"I'm Marion Larklow, from District 4." Marion replied. "It's nice to meet you two."

"We should be allies. That way, it would give us a higher chance to survive in the games." Husk suggested.

"But the game says there can be only one winner. We'll have to kill each other in the end." Marion said.

"It's better to become allies. Many people who go alone get picked off first by the Careers." Poppy gestured over to the knife-throwing station. Four tributes were talking to each other. "They're Careers from Districts 1 and 2. They always come from the richest Districts."

"The blond girl and boy are Jais Oren and Ruby Deen from District 1. The light brown haired girl and boy are Gilles Parson and Artemis Steiner from District 2. I'd use caution when you're near them. Careers are always mean and unpredictable." Husk explained.

Marion stared at the chatting Careers. Their muscles bulged slightly underneath their shirts, and their expressions showed that they have been training vigorously. The blond girl caught Marion staring at her and glared. Marion, suddenly feeling awkward and uneasy, turned around to avoid Ruby's icy stare. 


End file.
